The Korean people are an East Asian ethnic group. Most Koreans speak the Korean language.

Names

South Koreans call Koreans Han-guk-in (or simply 한인/Han-in for South Koreans living abroad) (lang: 한국인; lang: 韓國人) or informally Hanguk saram (lang: 한국 사람; lang: 韓國 사람), while North Koreans call Koreans Chosŏn-in (lang: 조선인; lang: 朝鮮人) or Chosŏn saram (lang: 조선 사람; lang: 朝鮮 사람). See Names of Korea, Korean romanization, Hangul;한글 and Hanja;한자.

Origins

Koreans are believed to be descendents of Altaic- or proto- Altaic-speaking tribes, linking them with Mongolians, Tungusics and Turkics. Archaeological evidence suggest proto-Koreans were Altaic-language-speaking migrants from south-central Siberia, who populated ancient Korea in successive waves from the Neolithic age to the Bronze Age.

Recent advances in the study of polymorphisms in the human Y-chromosome have produced evidence to suggest that the Korean people have a very long history as a distinct, mostly endogamous ethnic group, as male Koreans display a high frequency of Y-chromosomes belonging to Haplogroup O2b that are more or less specific to Korean populations. Fact: date=February 2007

Most Koreans and part-Koreans still display phenotypes suggesting Altaic origins.fact: date=July 2008 These features include higher cheekbones, and the Mongolian spot, a genetic predisposition for a bluish birthmark on the lower body which remains until early childhood; however, the Mongolian spot is also extremely common among non-Altaic people of Chinese, African, Native American, or East Indian ancestry.

Regional differences

Significant regional cultural and political differences exist.

Within South Korea, the most important regional difference is between the Gyeongsang region, embracing Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongsangnam-do provinces in the southeast, and the Jeolla region, embracing Jeollabuk-do and Jeollanam-do provinces in the southwest. The two regions, separated by the Jiri Massif, nurture a rivalry said to reach back to the Three Kingdoms Period, which lasted from the fourth century to the seventh century A.D., when the kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla struggled for control of the peninsula.

Observers noted that interregional marriages are rare, and that as of 1990 a new fourlane highway completed in 1984 between Gwangju and Daegu, the capitals of Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do, completed in 1984, was unsuccessful in promoting travel between the two areas.

South Korea's political elite, including presidents Park Chung-hee, Chun Doo-hwan, and Roh Tae-woo, have come largely from the Gyeongsang region. As a result, Gyeongsang has been a special beneficiary of government development assistance.